The Jane Eyre Research paper
(Mr. Polanco)
A research paper for Jane Eyre is due on March 10th. You must choose two critical articles
from the NY Public Library’s database, and choose a thesis below (or formulate your own) thesis.
Do not let the articles take over your thesis premise. Also formulate a Work Cited page. Only
articles from the NY Public Library can be used (NO Spark Notes and Google sites)
Choose one of the following thesis topics for your paper:
(Thesis: an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument)
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Feminism in Jane Eyre
Romantic love in Jane Eyre
Forbidden love in Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre: A novel about madness
Class conflict in Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre: The proud or shameful heroine?
Idolatrous desire in Jane Eyre
Power and mind control in Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre: A novel about European imperialism in the domestic marriage
Understated sex of the senses in Jane Eyre
Was Charlotte Bronte “Jane Eyre”?
Any other topic for your thesis on Jane Eyre
1. Google NY Public Library Literature Resource Center
2. Once you’re linked onto the NY Public Library Literature Resource Center,
Click onto “Connect to Database” just below the title of “Literature Resource
Center.”
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Type in this number 23333084036993 to
search the many critical essays found in
the NYPL database.
Once you’re linked onto the NY Public Library Literature Resource Center,
click onto “Connect to database” at the top.
Search Jane Eyre, then click onto Literature Criticism
Read the introductions of several essays. Choose only two essays with a thesis
that you find interesting and that you would want to use as sources (for
parenthetical citation) in your paper. Copy and paste them onto a word document,
and begin reading.
You may choose a thesis idea from the essays read, or create your own.
Print your copied critical essays and begin to annotate extensively. Look for
several quotes and or passages to paraphrase accordingly from both critical
essays. 90% of your paper must be from you, while only 10% is a reflection
of the sources you’ve used. You may paraphrase or quote from both these
sources throughout your paper, but if you do not site your sources via
parenthetical citation (after the use of a quote or paraphrasing, you are then
plagiarizing! Click onto the Plagiarism.org website and read the warnings to
ensure that this doesn’t happen: http://www.plagiarism.org/
I will also be utilizing new district software to check for any plagiarism.
9.
Be sure to site your sources by using the appropriate parenthetical citation and
creating a Works Cited page in the back (Use the Purdue University (OWL)
MLA handbook below) The OWL at Purdue - MLA Guidelines
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Guidelines for MLA Format
Paper Format
The preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA style is covered in chapter four of the MLA Handbook, and chapter
four of the MLA Style Manual. Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA style.
General Guidelines
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Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper,
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Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font like Times New Roman or Courier. (No fancy fonts!)
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Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of a paragraph one half-inch (five
spaces or press tab once) from the left margin.
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Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top
and flush with the right margin. (In some cases, instructors will ask you to omit the number on the first page. I
don’t mind either way.)
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Use either italics or underlining throughout your essay for the titles of longer works. Italics may be used to
provide emphasis, but only rarely.
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If you have any endnotes (like footnotes), include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page.
Formatting the First Page of Your Paper
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Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested. (College professors would consider this
too infantile)
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In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date.
Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.
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Double space again and center the title. Don't underline your title or put it in quotation marks; write the title in
Title Case, not in all capital letters.
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Use quotation marks and underlining or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in
your text, e.g.,
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play
o
Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking"
Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
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Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page
number; number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and
flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit last name/page
number header on your first page. Always follow their guidelines.)
Here is a sample heading and title in MLA format (model yours after this one):
Doe 1
John Doe
Mr. Polanco
English 2H
12 November 2010
Exploring Savagery and Cannibalism in The Lord of the Flies
(Begin your research paper here)
Basic In-Text Citation Rules
In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what's known as parenthetical
citation. Immediately following a quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a source's ideas, you place the
authors name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s).
Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the
title in quotation marks if it's a short work, or italicize or underline it if it's a longer work.
Your in-text citation will correspond with an entry in your Works Cited page, which, for the Burke citation
above, will look something like this:
Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P,
1966.
Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages allow readers to know which sources you consulted in
writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own
scholarly work. It is also an important way to avoid plagiarism: you must always give credit to your
sources.
Works Cited Page
According to MLA style, you must have a Works Cited page at the end of your research paper. Works Cited
page preparation and formatting is covered in chapter 5 of the MLA Handbook, and chapter 6 of the MLA
Style Manual. All entries in the Works Cited page must correspond to the works cited in your main text.
Basic Rules
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Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper (as a separate
page). It should have the same one-inch margins and last name, page number header as the rest of
your paper.
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Label the page Works Cited (do not underline the words Works Cited or put them in quotation
marks) and center the words Works Cited at the top of the page.
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Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
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List your sources alphabetically
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See the following link from Purdue U MLA handbook on developing a Works Cited page:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
1.
Books
First or single author's name is written last name, first name. The basic form for a book citation is:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
Book with One Author: Examples
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999.
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An essay or other work in an anthology (collection)
Include the author, title of essay, title of anthology, editor of anthology, publishing information, and the
page numbers of the essay.
Example:
More, Hannah. “The Black Slave Trade.” British Women Poets of the Romantic
Era. Ed. Paula R. Feldman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. 472-82.
3.
Internet Site
This can be a little complex, so be careful. Generally, this is the format and order of the information you
need to provide for your reader.
Author’s name. “Title of the Document.” Information about print publication.
Information about electronic publication. Access information.
Example:
Science Magazine. 2002. Amer. Assn. for the Advancement of Science. 24 Sept. 2002
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/contenct/full/293/5527/51>
Zeki, Semir. “Artisitc Creativity and the Brain.” Science 6 July 2001: 51-52.
Ideally, the URL of the exact document you consulted should be given. Sometimes, however, the
URL of a document is so long and complicated that reproducing it invites mistakes and is
inconvenient. In this case, you can put the URL of the home page of the site.
In the above entry there was information available as to where the article was first published (in
print). If your article was not previously published in print, this information won’t be available, so
you will just list the Internet page and site information.
Don’t forget to include the date of access!!! (In the entry above, it is Sept. 24 th.)
If you have a source and you’re not sure how to cite it, let me know and we will consult my
MLA Handbook so we can be sure that you get it right!!!
Last Modified on 11/07/2010 02:18:22 PM
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How to do the MLA header in WORD
MLA requires that you put your last name and the page number on every page of the essay, including the
first. Please click on the link below for directions.
http://www.englishdiscourse.org/dh.html
Title: Wuthering heights: the problem of Heathcliff: Paul Cheetham considers the hero at the heart of Emily Brontes novel